Campus Carry Legislation and Its Impact at Texas State University
Date
2020-12
Authors
Walt, Colin James
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Abstract
Texas State University is currently one of many institutions of higher education in Texas that has implemented policies in conjunction with campus carry legislation. Senate Bill 11, often referred to as campus carry, took effect on August 1, 2016. The law allows properly licensed citizens to carry concealed handheld firearms while on campus. In response, Texas State University formed a task force that led the implementation of the law on campus. The purpose of this study is to examine the history and context of campus carry, detail its stipulations, and analyze the impact it’s had on students and faculty at Texas State University. Research was conducted utilizing a systematic interview process in conjunction with academic sources. Interviews of students and faculty members from a variety of departments at Texas State University were conducted virtually following a predetermined line of questioning. These interviews were meant to allow members of the university community to share their thoughts on how effective, or ineffective, they believe campus carry has been at improving campus safety, and how it has impacted their lives while on campus. Analysis of interview responses showed that faculty members are more inclined to believe that allowing concealed firearms on campus would decrease the overall safety. The results also indicated that students tend to be more comfortable with the implementation of campus carry at Texas State University, although students were frequently less aware of campus carry policies as compared to faculty. In addition, concerns ranged from police response times during an active shooting to the danger posed by a student carrying a concealed firearm during intense classroom discussions. However, there are limitations to the findings of this study due to the small sample size, and additional data collection would be necessary to draw finer conclusions.
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Keywords
campus carry, concealed carry, Senate Bill 11, school shooting, mass shooting, firearm, Honors College
Citation
Walt, C. J. (2020). Campus carry legislation and its impact at Texas State University (Unpublished thesis). Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas.